Ancient Lixian City Wall

Ancient Lixian City Wall

The Ancient Lixian City Wall is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Ancient Lixian City Wall was once the location of the ancient Lixian Prefecture government. In the fifth year of the Hongwu reign during the Ming Dynasty (1372), the prefectural government was moved from Xincheng (Xinzhou) to its present site. Governor Xiao Jie constructed an earthen wall, which later suffered multiple collapses due to flooding. In the second year of the Yongle reign (1404), the wall was bricked over, reaching a height of one zhang and five chi (five meters), with crenellations added on top, encircling a perimeter of nine li and thirteen bu (4,500 meters), and surrounded by a moat. It underwent multiple repairs and reinforcements during the Ming Jingtai, Qing Kangxi, Qianlong, Daoguang, and Tongzhi eras. The wall foundation was built with strip-shaped bluestone, the body with blue bricks, and filled with compacted earth in between. It had six gates — East Gate, Little South Gate, Big South Gate, West Gate, Golden Ox Gate, and North Gate — each topped with a gate tower. In 2006, it was designated as a Provincial-Level Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

In 1372 (the fifth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty), the Lixian Prefecture government was relocated from Xincheng (Xinzhou) to its current location. Governor Xiao Jie built an earthen wall, which later suffered multiple collapses due to flooding. In the second year of the Yongle reign (1404), the wall was reinforced with bricks, standing five meters high (one zhang and five chi), with crenellations added on top, encircling a perimeter of nine li and thirteen bu (4,500 meters), and surrounded by a moat. Over the Ming Jingtai, Qing Kangxi, Qianlong, Daoguang, and Tongzhi periods, the wall underwent multiple repairs and reinforcements. Its foundation was built using long strip-shaped bluestones, the wall body with blue bricks, and the middle filled with compacted earth. There were six single-arch gates: East Gate, North Gate, Golden Ox Gate, West Gate, South Gate, and Little South Gate, each with a gate tower. Drawbridges were built over the moats in front of the gate towers.

During the Republican era, the ancient city walls were damaged due to flooding and warfare. On the fifth day of the sixth month in the 24th year of the Republic of China (1935), the simultaneous flooding of the Li, Dan, and Cen rivers led to the collapse of the city walls and dikes, causing severe losses. In the 32nd year of the Republic of China, during the Japanese invasion of the county town, several sections of the East Gate and Great West Gate walls were bombed and destroyed by Japanese aircraft.

After the liberation, in order to prevent flooding, the county government mobilized residents in 1950 to repair the section of the wall from Di Lou Guai to outside the Great West Gate, followed by several further restorations. The Lixian Ancient City Wall was constructed using strip stones, blue bricks, and a lime-tung oil mortar. The foundation was made of strip stones, with deep grooves carved between the stones and filled with molten iron for reinforcement. The wall body was filled with compacted earth and featured six gates (East Gate, North Gate, Golden Ox Gate, West Gate, South Gate, and Little South Gate), all with single-arch passages and equipped with gate towers. Drawbridges were built across the moats in front of the gate towers. To this day, only the southeast section of the wall remains relatively well-preserved, extending approximately 2,000 meters from Di Lou Guai in the east to No. 1 Middle School of Lixian County in the southwest.

Scenic Area Address: Within the county seat of Lixian County, Changde City, Hunan Province

Transportation: Take a bus from Changde City to Lixian County, then transfer to a minibus to reach the scenic area

Linyang Subdistrict: A town under the jurisdiction of Lixian County, it has served as the seat of the prefecture, district, road, prefecture, and county governments since the Tang Dynasty. It is the location of the county government. In 1950, it was established as Chengguan Town, renamed Jiucheng Town in 1952, then changed to Lixian Town the same year, restored as Chengguan Town in 1954, turned into Chengguan Town Commune in 1960, reinstated as a town in 1971, and in 1995, merged with Linyang Township and Lixi Township and renamed Linyang Town. Located in the central part of the county on the north bank of the Li River, it covers an area of 59.4 square kilometers with a population of 102,000. The town government is headquartered in Taohuatan. National Highway 207 and Provincial Highways 1836, 1852, and 1868 intersect here... More details about Linyang Subdistrict++

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Hunan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units